The LA Auto Show always delivers something for everyone and lately that's been expanding to even include the Silicon Beach set with the addition of an annual hackathon!

It's being called Code AutoMobility LA and it's an automotive and technology industry facing convergence event that's ultimately meant to make all of our driving lives easier in Southern California and beyond.

I grabbed some time from Alexis Evans, Director of Communications for the LA Auto Show and AutoMobility LA to hear more about the hackathon event, how it might one-day help transform our precious windshield-time and what's at stake for the winning hackers.

***Transcription***

Recording date – November 2, 2018, in Los Angeles, CA

Calling All Mobility / Automotive Hackers

Alexis Evans: We're not calling it a hackathon this year. We're calling it Code AutoMobility LA. Anyone can participate... the theme this year is... getting drivers from point A to point B safely, as well as coming up with seamless, in-car payment solutions.

Tom Smith: Welcome to iDriveSoCal the podcast about mobility from the automotive capital of the United States, Southern California.

Tom Smith here and today I am at the LA Auto Show headquarters, the office, downtown Los Angeles as we prep for the LA Auto Show and joining me is Alexis Evans, who's the Director of Communications for the LA Auto Show as well AutoMobility LA, which is kind of like the industry shindig that happens before, it's all before right?

Alexis Evans: It's all before. So it's four days before the consumer show. It's B2B show. It's also formerly known as our press and trade days. So this is when we have our conference on Tuesday, and then Wednesday and Thursday is when we have the vehicle debuts, so think sheets coming off of cars, really cool spectacles for all major OEMs.

Tom Smith: And if you want to get invited to that kind of thing, you just start up some kind of iDriveSoCal like Podcast and you can go.

Tom Smith: Alexis thank you for joining me.

Alexis Evans: Absolutely. Thanks for having me.

Tom Smith: So, and the focus of this podcast is going to be not only the AutoMobility LA portion, but a piece of that, and that is the all exciting hackathon. You guys have done this for how many years now?

Alexis Evans: We've done this for a couple of years. We actually, it's kind of an interesting story, because we kind of got pulled into being a part of a hackathon a couple of years ago, I want to say in 2014.

Automotive Hackathon Beginnings

Ford was actually one of the first automakers to do some type of automotive type hackathon. They started at CTIA.

Tom Smith: CTIA.

Alexis Evans: Which is its kind of like a tech conference that takes place every year. I believe it's in Vegas. I would have to double check that.

Tom Smith: Okay. So Ford started the hackathon at another conference, called CTIA?

Alexis Evans: Correct. And then they did another one that they took that same hackathon and they brought it to connect a car expo, which is now known as AutoMobility LA.

Tom Smith: Got it.

Alexis Evans: So, from there, that's kind of how we got tied into it. And then we would have hackathons at Connected Car Expo, AutoMobility LA, through Mojio, Mojio would have their hackathon on our site.

Tom Smith: Mojio.

Alexis Evans: It's another-

Tom Smith: Is that an acronym as well?

Alexis Evans: No.

Tom Smith: How do you spell Mojio?

Alexis Evans: M-O-J-I-O.

Tom Smith: Okay.

Alexis Evans: So, they would hold their hack event at Connect A Car Expo, and then we obviously changed, we rebranded ourselves to AutoMobility LA.